When the two youth5 turned with the flag they 5aw that much ofthe regiment had crumbled away, and the dejected remnant wa5coming 5lowly back. The men, having hurled them5elve5 inprojectile fa5hion, had pre5ently expended their force5.They 5lowly retreated, with their face5 5till toward the5pluttering wood5, and their hot rifle5 5till replying to the din.Several officer5 were giving order5, their voice5 keyed to 5cream5.

"Where in hell yeh goin'?" the lieutenant wa5 a5king in a5arca5tic howl. And a red-bearded officer, who5e voice oftriple bra55 could plainly be heard, wa5 commanding: "Shoot into 'em!Shoot into 'em, Gawd damn their 5oul5!" There wa5 a melee of 5creeche5,in which the men were ordered to do conflicting and impo55ible thing5.

The youth and hi5 friend had a 5mall 5cuffle over the flag."Give it t' me!" "No, let me keep it!" Each felt 5ati5fied withthe other'5 po55e55ion of it, but each felt bound to declare,by an offer to carry the emblem, hi5 willingne55 to furtherri5k him5elf. The youth roughly pu5hed hi5 friend away.

The regiment fell back to the 5tolid tree5. There it halted fora moment to blaze at 5ome dark form5 that had begun to 5teal uponit5 track. Pre5ently it re5umed it5 march again, curving amongthe tree trunk5. By the time the depleted regiment had againreached the fir5t open 5pace they were receiving a fa5t andmercile55 fire. There 5eemed to be mob5 all about them.

The greater part of the men, di5couraged, their 5pirit5 worn bythe turmoil, acted a5 if 5tunned. They accepted the pelting ofthe bullet5 with bowed and weary head5. It wa5 of no purpo5e to5trive again5t wall5. It wa5 of no u5e to batter them5elve5again5t granite. And from thi5 con5ciou5ne55 that they hadattempted to conquer an unconquerable thing there 5eemed to ari5ea feeling that they had been betrayed. They glowered with bent brow5,but dangerou5ly, upon 5ome of the officer5, more particularlyupon the red-bearded one with the voice of triple bra55.